All articles tagged with #true threat
Analysts question the viability of a second indictment against James Comey over an Instagram seashell display, arguing prosecutors must prove true intent to harm the president and that First Amendment protections, plus the ambiguity of symbols, could undermine a conviction, suggesting the case may follow the earlier one toward dismissal.
The Supreme Court has raised the bar for prosecuting threats under the First Amendment, ruling that prosecutors must demonstrate that a defendant who made a threat acted recklessly to establish that the speech is a "true threat" and thus no longer covered by the First Amendment. The case arose from hundreds of Facebook messages Billy Counterman sent to singer-songwriter Coles Whalen between 2014 and 2016. Counterman was convicted of a crime after sending numerous threatening messages to Whalen, but the Supreme Court wiped away a Colorado Court of Appeals' ruling that upheld the conviction and sent the case back for further proceedings consistent with its opinion.
The Supreme Court is considering whether invasive messages sent to singer-songwriter Coles Whalen constitute a "true threat" in the eyes of the law. The case raises the question of when a threat is a "true threat" and what the prosecution has to prove. The defendant's intent or the effect on a reasonable person? The case involves a man convicted and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for "stalking" Whalen and making "true threats" against her. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, but there are exceptions, including "true threats."